Monthly Archives: May 2016

4 Quick AC Tips to Save Money When You’re Away on Vacay

Many people go on vacation in the summer months and there’s conflicting advice as to what to do with your air conditioner. Should you leave it set at its normal temperature, turn it off altogether or turn it up a few degrees?

The team at Getzschman Heating and Air Conditioning is here to answer that question and more, and offer a few tips to save you money while you’re away. Here are four quick air conditioning tips that will save you money while you’re on vacation:

Leave Your Air Conditioner On

Many homeowners think that turning off the air conditioner will save them the most money. However, this is not the case. Part of your air conditioner’s job is to remove humidity from the air. If you turn it off, humidity builds up in your home.

When you return, your system will have to work extra hard to get that humidity out of the air, making you feel uncomfortable and sticky instead of cool and comfortable when you arrive home. In some cases, excess humidity and heat can even lead to mold growth. In short, don’t turn your AC off.

Turn the Thermostat Up a Few Degrees

If you’re away, you don’t have to keep your home at a temperature that’s comfortable for people, as no people will be in your home. However, setting the temperature up a few degrees can help your air conditioner to work less, which will save you some money.

The U.S. Department of Energy reports that you can save as much as 1% on your utility bills for every degree you bump the temperature up*. Your system will use less energy, but it will still keep humidity levels low.

Programmable Thermostats Save Money

Programmable thermostats make saving money easy. You can set it for whatever temperature you’d like and keep it there while you’re gone. Plus, you can program it to lower the temperature a few hours before you return so you home is cool and comfy when you get back from your big break.

Programmable thermostats make controlling the temperature in your home super easy. You just set it and forget it!

Keep Your Blinds Closed

Don’t forget to close your blinds when you’re away. This will not only keep people from seeing inside your home, which is a good thing while you’re away, but it will also keep your home from accumulating heat from the sun (solar gain).

It’s simple, but will definitely help keep your home cooler and your air conditioner working at a minimum to keep it that way.

The team at Getzschman Heating and Air Conditioning wishes you a great summer vacation! If you need help with your air conditioner this summer, just give us a call at (402) 554-1110.

Allergens in Your Home and How to Get Them Out

Over 50 million people in the U.S. suffer from allergies. If you’re not one of them, count your lucky stars. If you do suffer from allergies, you know spring is one of the hardest times of year. The team at Getzschman Heating and Air Conditioning wants to help. While we are a heating and cooling company, we want you to know that we can help with allergies, too. At Getzschman Heating and Air Conditioning, we offer several ways to help rid your home of allergens:

Duct Cleaning

One ounce of dust contains nearly 42,000 living dust mites. Consider that up to 40 pounds of dust gets into your home every year, and up to 15 pounds of that can get trapped in your duct system. Get rid of that dust as well as pollen, fungi, and bacteria with our duct cleaning service. Related Read: 7 Houseplants That Can Help You Breathe Easier

Air Scrubbers Remove Particles from the Air in Your Home

Once the dust and allergens are out of your home, you’ll want a way to keep them out. We recommend the Air Scrubber Plus air cleaner. There are three classes of indoor air pollutants: particles, mold-mildew-bacteria, odors-chemical vapors. Our Air Scrubber Plus system uses positive and negative charges (ions) to make the particles attracted to each other. This attraction makes the particles clump together so they can be trapped by your air filter.

UV Germicidal Lamps

Biological contaminants like mold, mildew, bacteria, and viruses can settle on surfaces inside your HVAC system and circulate through your home’s air. UV germicidal lamps emit rays of ultraviolet light that penetrate the cell walls of these contaminants and kill them. They work continuously even when your heating or cooling system isn’t on. Just one less thing to bother your allergies.

Timely Tips for Allergy Sufferers

Keep the House Closed Up Tight – You may be tempted to open the windows on a nice day to let the fresh air in, but don’t, if you have any allergy sufferers in your home.

Shower at Night – Your hair harbors all kinds of allergens. Don’t transfer this to your pillow to breathe all night long. Go to bed with clean hair to ensure you don’t exacerbate your allergy symptoms.

Change Your Filter on Your AC Often – Keep the air as clean as possible by replacing your air filter at least once a month.

Go Barefoot at Home – Don’t drag in all of the allergens on your shoes. They will embed themselves into rugs and carpeting. Remove your shoes when you get home.

Use the Re-circulate on Your Vehicle’s AC – By recirculating the air in your vehicle instead of letting new air in, you will decrease the amount of allergens you are exposed to. And definitely keep the windows rolled up and the air conditioner on.

Lower the Humidity in Your House – Mold loves humidity. If you lower the humidity level to less than 60%, it will discourage mold growth.

Pay Attention to the Allergy Reports – If the pollen, ragweed, mold, etc. count is high, it’s best to limit your outdoor activities that day if possible.